Setting up the Lock mode

Setting up the system to use the lock mode requires 3 steps.

Switch to a persistent system using the configuration tool: this can be done in the Advanced tab, in the Data persistence sub-section, as show on the screenshot below. Once you have set this, you need to reboot your Linutop.

Once you have rebooted, log with the user account. You should now tweak the settings for this account, these settings will be used in the Lock mode:

Disabling the Lock mode

Once the Lock mode is enabled, the user user will logged in by default. To disable the Lock mode, you need to log with the linutop user, to open the Linutop configuration tool and to uncheck the checkbox about the Lock mode in the Security tab. The password you set before is required to perform those actions, so don't forget it !

Users and Lock mode

'linutop' and 'user'

When the lock mode is on, you (linutop admin) will have to handle two system users. You already know the first one, 'linutop', who has every rights on the system and is used by default. The second one is 'user'. His rights are very limited, he can only access his own personnal directory, and can't modify the system data (he can't disable the lock mode for instance).

Each user has a password. For 'linutop', it's the one you've type when you turned the lock mode on. For 'user', it is an empty password by default.

Each user also owns his own home directory. This means that the customization done on the 'linutop' user will not appear on the 'user' one.

Persistence

Do not forget that running under lock mode means that almost everything is done in RAM. The only files that can be changed are the files on the root of the USB key or internal disk, in the /cdrom dir, and this can only be done by the 'linutop' account.

This means that the modifications that you need to do on the system (adding a new software, a driver, changing the wallpaper or the icon theme...) have to be done before switching to the lock mode, and in persistent mode.

Backups and restoration

Backups

Emergency restoration

If you've lost your 'linutop' password, you'll be locked. A solution to restore the system on the internal disk without erasing the system is to boot on a backup key, and to copy the file /cdrom/syslinux.cfg to the root of the hard drive. In a terminal this can be done with: